Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

(Left) Ga ry Rogers put in another g reat cushion-track rid e to finish fourth. The roug h e r the track, the better the California kid seems to l i k e ' e m , (Right) Tractor drags : T h e l o o s e Sea ttle Mile surface req uired Intensive maintenance to ensure s afety and good action, b ut riders found the c o nditions to be t he best in the three years that the event has been run. of t he hour - again c a p p i n g off a nig ht o f dom ination b y locals r id ing Suzukis . " T h a t ' s rig ht , Dan [ S t a nl e y ] won t hat Pro Si ng l es ex hi bitio n , d id n ' t h e ? " K o pp said. "I t was j u s t o ne of t h o s e n ights w here th e t ra ck got r ea l l y d e ep , a n d yo u co u l d j u s t ki nd o f p oin t a n d s hoot th e thing . M y b i k e h ad so mu c h p o w e r th at th e m or e I I just c ush io n co u l d find , th e b ette r off I was. k ept d r ifting up high e r, a n d th en Ro ed e r w a s c u ttin g und e r m e a n d m a k ing m e c ha n ge my line a b it. I didn't r eall y b e at Ro eder b e caus e h e brok e , bu t I 'm r e a l happ y with th e w ay tha t t hings are going r ig h t n o w . To run with guys like him and Carr on that Suzu k i , that shows h o w good th e th ing i s g ett ing . W e ' re going t o maybe t ry and g ive it a shot aga in at Sa cram ento and just see how i t goes. " If it goes as w e ll as Seattle d id for Kopp, it might b e tough for the com petition t o wipe the smil e off h is fa ce again. eN Eme..ld Downs Seatde,VVashingtDn Results: September17, 2000 [Round 7 of 10J HEAT 1 (6 la ps; 10 ride rs, top 3 tra nsfe r): 1. Chris Ca rr (H·D); 2 . Kenny Coo lbeth (SUl); 3 . Dan Sta nley ( Rt x ); 4 . Sha un Ru ssell ( H· D ) ; 5. M a rk Corsett i (W ·R) ; 6 . Jeff An nen (Rtx ); 7 . Rex Fisher (W·R) ; 8 . A aron Westo n (W· R) : 9 . Jo hn Gra nt (Hon); 10. Dick Wall (Yam). Time: 3 min .• 59 . 188 sec . HEAT 2 (6 lap s: 11 riders, t op 3 transfer): 1. J ay Spring steen (H- D); 2. J ason Tye r (H· D); 3. Je ss Roeder (H·D); 4. Steve Ubert y (H-D) : 5. Bryan Smith (Rtx): 6 . J aime Agui lar (H· D ): 7 . Bea u Bro wn (Ce M ); 8. Scooter Verno n (ATK): 9. Jos h Currey (W· R); 10 . Beau A . Brown (Rtx): 11. Don ald Paul (H-D) . Tim e: 4 mln .. 00 .16 1 sec. HEAT 3 (6 laps; 10 ri ders , t op 3 t ran sfer): 1. Geo Roeder II (H-O); 2. Joe Kopp (Suz); 3. J .R. Schnabel (H -O); 4. Gary Rogers (H-O) ; 5 . Don Wilson (Rt x): 6. Nate Wait (H-D ); 7. Christi an Verno n (Rtx) : 8. Jerry Southworth (CCM); 9 . Steve Pruczinski (CCM); 10. Chris Fitzhugh (Rtx). Time : 3 min., 59 .877 sec. SEMI 1 (6 laps; 11 ri ders, wi nner transfers): 1, Sha un Russell ( H- D) ; 2. Nate Wait (H· D) ; 3 . Mark Corsett i (W· R); 4. Don Wil son (Rtx): 5 . Beau Brown (CCM) ; 6. Chris Fitzhu gh (Rtx) : 7. Aaron Weston ( WR); 8. .Je irne Aguil ar (H-D) ; 9 . John Grant (Hon) ; 10, Steve Pruczinsk i (CCM); 11. Beau A . Brown (Rtx}. Time: 4 min.• 05 .297 sec. SEMI 2 (6 laps; 11 rid ers, winn er tra nsf ers): 1. Gary Rogers (H-O); 2. Steve Uberty (H· O); 3. Bryan Smi th (ATK) ; 4. J eff Annen (Rtx ); 5 . Rex Fisher (WR) ; 6 . Christian Vernon (Rtx}: 7. Sco oter Vernon (ATK); 8. Josh Currey (W-R); 9. Jerry Southworth (CCM); 10. Donald Paul (H-O); 11. Dick Wall (Yam). Ti me: 4 m in.• 01.28 1 sec. LCQ ( 6 laps; 12 riders, winner t ran sfer s) : I. Bry an Smith (AT K) ; 2. Don Wilson (Rtx) ; 3 . Stev e Uberty (H·O); 4. Mark Corsetti (W-R); 5. Jeff Annen ( Rtx); 6. Nate Wait (H-O); 7. Rex Fisher (W·R); 8. Christian Vernon (Rtx ); 9. Beau A . Brown (CCM); 10. Chris Fitzhugh (Rtx}: 11. Aaron Weston (W· R): 12. Scooter Vernon (ATK). Tim e: 4 min ., 08 .830 sec. NATIONAL (20 laps; 12 riders): I. Joe Kopp (Suz); 2. Chris Carr (H-O); 3. Jay Springsteen (H-O); 4. Gary Rogers (H-O); 5. Kenny Coolbeth (Suz); 6. J.R . Schnabel ( H· D) ; 7. Jaso n Tyer ( H· D) ; 8. J ess Roe (H-O); 9. Dan Stanley (Rtx); 10. Bryan Smith der (Rtx ); 11. Shewn Russell (H· D); 12. Geo Roeder II (H-O). Tim e: None, due to manda tory pit stop. FORMlI LA lI SA/WRENCHEAO.COM NATIONAL DIRT TRACK SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (Aft er 7 of 10 rounds) : 1. Chris Carr (458/1 win) ; 2. J .R. Schnabel (395 ); 3 . Jay Springsteen (384 ); 4 . Gary Rogers (362) ; 5. Dan Stanley (299) ; 6. Joe Kopp (280/1 ); 7. Jason Tyer (278); 8. Mike Hacker (254); 9. Gee Roeder II (253); 10. Kenny Coolbeth (249); 11. Rich King (248/3) ; 12. Terry Poovey (216/1); 13. Will Davis ( 198/1 ); 14. (TIE) Michael Vames/Wlllie McCoy ( 188) ; 16. Shawn Russell ( 182 ); 17. Greg Tysor ( 176): 18. (T IE) Beau A . Brown / Don Wilson ( 164 ); 20. Johnny Murphree ( 160). [fJf?® @ D[fiJ[fjO@0 § EDDilWilliD@[fiJ @liilOO @li&J[fiJD@SV! fB @(J[}gGfJr!lil Wounded o r not, BBRP/Circle F Racing Frames' Da n Stan ley (10) brought his trick -looking but n early stock DR- Z400 Suzu k i - po w ered nat-tracker out just fo r fu n ~ t Emerald Do w n s. And , wounded o r not , the Suzuk i m ot ored to a second straight Pro Sin gles v icto ry - eve n if this six-la pper was o n ly an exhib ition ra ce and thus did not have any seriespo in ts im p lications. Things got t ense, thoug h , as Sta nley g ra b bed the hol eshot aboa rd the bike, quickly pulling away from th e Stev e Janisch-owned Rota x o f T eam Pow ell /West Bend H-D' s J _R . Sch na bel and L y n w ood Ra cin g {Th o r rider Jeff Annen , Schn ab el was Ro ta x -m o u nt ed , w hile Annen rod e a Yamaha . It look ed like neither rid er w ould be able to m at c h Sta nl ey ' s torrid pace, but then Stan ley ' s m achine began to sputter at the end of the straightaways with about t wo lap s to go_The p roblem worsened, allowing Sc hn abel to close u p some of the gap while Annen towed along about si x len gth s behind Schnabel. Stan ley kept the throttle pinned, however, and he limped home to victory, Schnabel was se cond, w ith Annen third. Fo othills Excavating's Kurt Hawk and Simonsen/O'Brien Racing Products' Kurt Hawk finished fourth and fifth . respective ly . Afterward, Stanley offered high praise for h is new Pro Singles combination. "This thing w orks so goo d : St an l ey sa id . " We haven 't re all y d o n e mu ch t o i t. W e 're wo rk i ng o n th e b la ck boxes, W e need to get it to rev just a little bit higher and then w e'll be o k ay . Right no w , there is an aftermarket c o m pa n y that makes differ ent boxes . but we h ear tha t th ey k ee p blowing m o tors with th em , so we're not q u ite ready to go that route yet. I just ra n it wide open out th ere , b ut w hen it sta rted crapping o ut , I was getting nervous . B ut early o n , it ra n awesome, and it' s getting better every week , Pretty soon it's going to be in a cl ass by itself: BRIEFLY••• T roy Ros e update: A ccordi ng to his pal Mi ckey Fay . w ho was present at the Seattle M ile. t he re have bee n so me signs of improvem ent in Rose. who su ffered para lysis in the multi-ride r pile up tha t l ook pla ce during qu alifying at th e Portl and Half Mi le . " A s of to nig ht. Troy has rega ined feeling in his feet . " Fay rep orted . - He was paralyzed fro m the waste down . They operate d on his w rist today . and th ey are operat ing o n his back again tom orr ow . So far . they have taken out three ve rte brae and repla ced tho se w ith titanium cages . His spinal co rd is brui sed . but the doctor s are sure that that will co me back . " Fay also auctioned off a custorn-peinte d motorcycle helm et and sought donation s to help w ith the burden of Rose 's medi cal expen ses . For more info rmation . Inte rested parties should contact Renton M ot orcycle Works. 425/226-2929. Coming home: J ess R oeder w as pitted alo ngs ide his bro ther Geo Roeder II in the Las Vega s H·D pit stall at Emerald D own s. a sight that Roeder says the fans can expec t to see for the rest of 2000 and through the 2001 sea son as well. The y ounger Roeder is leaving the pavement be hind to ret um to dirt -tra ck racing full time. ' The main rea son for it is that nobody is going to give me any money to go road racing next year. but it feels really good to get back into dirt track anyway .- Roeder said . ' My dad and my brother and I have been working really hard on this 750 . and I'm start ing to feel pretty comfortable on it . I'm looking forward to getting into the off-season and working on a top -level 750 progra m .- A former 600cc Su persport campaigner. Roed er said that he felt that he had enough tale nt to road race . but that he ultimately couldn't de al with the vast horsepower differences between the factory and privateer equ ipm ent. " l'd go o ut there and ju st ride my guts out, ' Roed er said . " Here . my bro ther and my dad and I have put together a 75 0 without even working very hard . and already I feel like I'm within 5 hp of the to p guys instead of being down 25 hp . I used to be burned out on dirt track. but now I've got a real hunger to do it . M y confi dence is improving. I want to run up front with my brother and tho se guys so bad I can 't stand it .' This Seatt le M ile marked the third time arou nd for Jay Springsteen. and the three·time AMA Gra nd National C hampion said that he has seen a co ntinuous imp rove ment in the racing surface each time. " I think that it' s the be st it' s ever been . and I've bee n here all three times , ' Sp ringsteen said after the practice and timed qualifying sessio ns were co mpleted . " It' s not br eaking up , but th ey need to put a little more water in it, because it' s a little dry. The sec ond prac tice session wa s the be st. That' s the fastest that anybody went." Springsteen also said that he did not mind the fact that the main event wa s split into two 10 -lap legs to accomm odate the hig h degree of track main tenance. ' For the way the tr ack is. if they need to make cha nges . I th ink that it will be a bette r show fo r t he fan s. The way that the race track is. they have to do so much wo rk to it in order to keep it race -ready . It's not that bad. really . - Sp ringsteen finished third in the main even t. Chri s Carr shared Spri nger' s sentiments on the track . and he had the sta ts to back up his o pinio n . Carr qua lified fast est in th e ti me d se ss ions o n his Wrenchead .co m/H -D of S acr am ent o XR750 . " It was fun ou t ther e on either bike. " Carr said. " I was o nly here two ye ars ago . so I can' t co mpare it to last year. but right now it's better than two years ago ." C arr we nt o n to finish sec ond in the main event. Like J oe Ko pp . Dan Stanley rece ived a huge cheer from the packed Emera ld Dow ns grandstand. as he res ides jus t up the road in Bellingham. Washington. maki ng him a ce rtified local. Ret urni ng to actio n at the Portland Half M ile just one week after the grinding Sp rin gheid Mil e crash that left him w ith two broken vertebrae. S tan ley was visibly still hurting fr om the accident, even though he did elect to ride both cla sses on the demanding Seattle track. He was weari ng a motocro ss-style kidney belt for added suppo rt . " M y back' s a little so re ." Stanley said. "lt wasn 't too bad until that last co uple o f practi ce s. The belt is just kind of keep ing everything sta ble . M y docto r doe sn 't know that I'm out here . but I hgure if it starts hurting . then I'll go see him . It has been fee ling better. - On the track. Stanl ey app ear ed to be mo re hampered by his equipment than his injury . as he barely pulled off the w in in the Pro Singles exhi bition race aboa rd his fastbut-failing Suz uki DR ·Z 400 . In the Nati on al main even t. a fa ulty sta to r left him runn ing at the rear of the held . St anley"s crew switched the unit during the brea k. and he went bac k o ut. sol dieri ng on to a ninth -place finish . M Nathan M Gato r W a it was in action at the Seattle M ile aboard the Mi tchell" s M od est o HarleyDavidson S uperTracker that is normally ridden by Mi che lle D iSalvo . ' They just called me up and asked me if I wan ted to ride it. so I said . 'Sure .'" Wait said . ' 1actually didn 't think I wa s goi ng to like it . but I'm start ing to like it more and mor e each time that I go out there . lts a lo t of fun to ride . - W ait almost made the tighl 12-rider cut. finishing sec ond to Gary Roge rs in the fir st semi afte r battl ing th ree-w ide wi th M ark C or setti and Don Wi lson . Second meant that he was forced to ride in the LC Q . He fini shed sixth in the event, w hich . like the semis. transf err ed only the win ner to th e National. Shaun Ru s sell wa s breat hing a Sigh of relief after making the steep 12-rider cut wh en he w on the seco nd semi. Times have been to ugh for the you ng Ca lifo rnian since the Indy Mile crash that left him o n th e sidelines fo r much of the seaso n. But o n a Seattle track of the type that he doesn't care for , Russell see med to suc k it up and return to form. makin g his seco nd Nat ion alca libe r main eve nt since returning to ac tio n just bef or e the Springfield M ile . " It has really been a struggle. - Russell said . "A ft er that crash at Indy . I had to lay dow n for a few we eks. and it' s been a hard time getting my head back tog eth er again. But my mecha nic Kenny M oh ler and Bart el s" Harley-Davidson have been beh ind me all the way . but it fee ls good tonight. .. Gary Rogers. cu sh io n man; We ll, maybe , It s ee ms like every tim e that the tr ac ks hav e g otten rou gh or de ep thi s seaso n. Roger s has bee n a factor in the race . lt' s a my st ery to him . too . " I don 't know w hy it' s happe ning like that . " Ro ge rs said ... M aybe it ' s be ca use I rid e a lot of motocross. I thi nk that my bikes really w ork we ll w he n it' s rou gher. too . Then again. mayb e my ta ll body help s me out." W hatever the case . Rogers wa s thi rd on a rough Indy Mi le this yea r. and he w as almos t third again at Seattl e . ey e e n e vv s S EPTEM BER 2 7 ,2000 15

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